Save gold. Don’t spend it!

Before we get our feet wet with gold guides it’s important to build a good foundation of managing wealth. This actually applies with real money as well so you’re getting a double bonus here.

It seems obvious “Save your money.”, but it’s implications are massive. Think back on every huge purchase you’ve made in wow (or even real life). Did that purchase bring you very much satisfaction after the honeymoon phase? Be honest. Ok, now get a calculator out and add up all the big purchases you’ve made in wow for as far back as you can remember. Now imagine that you never bought those things and instead you have the gold. I’m sure some of you would be quite wealthy or at least much better off.

Do you really need that 2.5M gold spider? The answer is no. You WANT IT and that’s fine, but you don’t need it. This is the secret to achieving wealth in virtual worlds and the real world.

“Alright, but what if I REALLY REAAAALLY want it???”

Sometimes there are things that we really want and I’ve come up with a solution for this. Exercise your restraint. Don’t buy anything you want unless you have 3x as much gold as what it costs.

For example,

Spectral Tiger – 9,000,000G

Total Gold required to purchase – 27,000,000G

“UUUUUUGGH but that’s so much gold!!!!” Yes it is, but when you hit that 27M gold mark you will have restrained yourself so much that you’ll be able to make a more rational decision. And you may even decide that it’s not worth 9M gold to you. If you spend everything you have to buy that next big “shiny thing” then you will always be broke.

Wealth is 90% spending control and 10% income. This is why so few are wealthy. It’s also why lottery winners, actors, and sports players often go broke. They achieved a huge increase in income very quickly and had very poor spending control.